I lived through the parching 7 year drought of the 1950s in Texas. I recall seeing rain when I was a little boy, and then not again until I was eleven. During that time, cattle died, ranchers had to leave their land because their tanks and wells dried up, farms blew away and many a small town had to ration water. But the demands then were nothing like they are now. The Edwards Aquifer that provides South Texas with its water is so low that it could begin to salinate due to salt water leaking in from the Gulf of Mexico. Essentially all of the lakes in Texas are in danger of drying up. If there is not rain there before the end of the summer, it will mean big trouble. Already, agriculture and the oil industry, which uses millions of gallons of water in fracking, are in serious trouble.

The most disturbing thing about this is that the drought is likely to spread north and eastward. I am very much afraid that the blistering summer I predicted last winter is going to happen.

If ever you have prayed for anything, pray for rain for the southwestern US, for Ethiopia, for China and all the other places suffering drought. If only some of the rain that has been drowning the northern tier of states could be pushed south where it’s needed!

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2 Comments

  1. Texas is drier than I can
    Texas is drier than I can ever remember…About 3 weeks ago I was in far West Texas and the Guadalupe Mountains. We made a trip to Carlsbad National Park and stayed in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We hiked extensively in Carlsbad National Park, and also visited the caverns. Today those canyons where we hiked are burning, and they are working to control the fire from consuming the park headquarters and residences.

    La nina is supposedly over for now, and our local forecasts are calling for slightly cooler temps in another week, and the chances of rain for the remainder of the summer have increased slightly…We shall see…

  2. In 2001 my wife and I went to
    In 2001 my wife and I went to San Antonio to attend her father’s funeral. At that time the nightly weather report included values for saline contamination of local well water. My understanding is that for each inch of sea level rise, salt water intrusion proceeds a mile further inland into aquifers. I HIGHLY recommend the book Cadillac Desert for a history of water mismanagement in the USA and a look at the real story behind the movie Chinatown. It is one of the best-written books I have ever read, as well. You also may be able to find the PBS special by the same name, a 4-videotape series.

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